Bats still silent, but not Guillen

Mark GonzalesTribune staff reporter

Suggestions, anyone?

"I just checked my e-mail for what I should do or what kind of lineup I should make out," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said Wednesday after the Sox fell 3-2 to the Mariners for their fourth consecutive loss. "There will be 120 e-mails about the lineup."

The Sox's offensive miseries continued. They have scored a total of six runs in their last three games—all on home runs—and have had only one at-bat with runners in scoring position in their last two games.

Hitting coach Greg Walker might be feeling some heat, but Guillen suggested the blame should be shared by everyone.

"All coaches, Ozzie, the video guy, everyone, we have to take the blame because the guys aren't producing," Guillen said before the Sox's batting average dipped to .221. "Maybe we do too much, maybe we're not doing enough. Now it's time to coach. [Bad] fighters throw in the towel and quit the fight. Good fighters get up when they get knocked down.

"And we're good fighters. I'm in their corner. Am I 100 percent behind these guys right now? Oh, yeah. I believe in you guys, now go perform."

"If 'Walk' and [computer analyst] Mike Gellinger weren't here, it would be worse for me," said Konerko, who is batting .202. "It never has crossed my mind, not even once. I don't even want to comment on it because I don't want anything getting written wrong. Anything I've done over the past three or four years is because of Greg Walker and Mike Gellinger.

"When it flows, it will flow."

The lack of run support extended rookie left-hander John Danks' (0-4) losing streak to four games. Danks' exceptional effort was wasted when Yuniesky Betancourt hit a tie-breaking homer with two out in the seventh.

The Sox have provided Danks with only four runs in his five starts.

Guillen said coaches don't get enough credit for players' successes and often are targeted as a source of a team's or player's failures.

"My coaching staff has to have enough guts to take the blame," Guillen said. "I take general blame, and everyone takes blame. Even if they don't want to, they have to. It's easy when something goes wrong to say, 'It's not my fault.' Oh, really?

"A couple of years ago they say we win because of Ozzie ball. Well, we lose because of Ozzie ball. That's the way it is. Don't take credit when things go good because when things go bad, no, no, no.

"I support Greg Walker. I'm behind him 100 percent, and he knows it."

Walker said after the game he knows the territory that comes with a struggling offense and won't change his preparation.

At the same time, Guillen said he doesn't need to chastise his hitters as long as they keep looking for ways to break out of their slumps.

"The only thing I don't like is when my players don't hit and put their head down and look around or tap someone's shoulders and say 'Somebody, do something,' " Guillen said. "I can't do anything, or my coaches. [The players have] the chance to do some damage. Go out and do it."

Konerko agreed with Guillen's assessment.

"It's a team game, but it's an individual situation when it comes to the hitter," Konerko said. "You know what gets you going and fix yourself. Some might be working more or backing off. It's a different answer for everybody. We're doing our best. I guarantee you everyone is playing harder or just as hard as they have."